A measure of world shares rose above a peak set in May 2011to trade at highs last seen 4 1/2 years ago before paring gains.But investors were cautious with the minutes from the FederalReserve's most recent meeting due for release later in the day.

MSCI's all-country world equity index hit asession high of 359.37 before paring gains to trade at 358.48,0.12 percent higher on the day.

Wall Street opened lower and the FTSEurofirst 300 index index of top European shares was down 0.12 percent at1170.34. The benchmark S&P 500 has gained more than 7 percent sofar this year, giving some investors pause.

U.S. residential construction fell in January but a jump inpermits for future home building to a 4-1/2 year high offeredhope the housing market recovery remains on track.

"Any sustained recovery will continue to be underpinned by arecovery in housing, and the building permits suggests a slow,grinding recovery. There will be fits and starts, but thegeneral trend is a positive slope, which bodes well for themarket," Steven Baffico, chief executive officer at Four WoodCapital Partners in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 6.21points, or 0.04 percent, at 14,029.46. The Standard & Poor's 500Index was down 3.46 points, or 0.23 percent, at 1,527.48.The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 8.39 points, or 0.26percent, at 3,205.21.

Global equity markets have surged over the last seven monthsas major central banks have repeatedly delivered support.

Details from the last Bank of England meeting showed itspolicymakers were more inclined than had been thought for moreasset purchases under its quantitative easing (QE) program andhad even considered cutting interest rates.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top exporter of crude oil, expects to raise its output in the second quarter to satisfyhigher demand from China and drive economic recovery elsewhere,oil industry sources said, but the exact rise in volume wasunclear.

April Brent crude futures were 57 cents down at$116.95 a barrel after posting their first gain in four sessionson Tuesday. U.S. crude fell 1 cent to $96.65. Thecontract expires later on Wednesday.

U.S. Treasury debt prices eased, tracking falls in Germanbonds after a weak auction, although the market was seenrange-bound before the release of minutes of the FederalReserve's January policy meeting later in the day.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note wasunchanged in price to yield 2.0278 percent.

The dollar edged higher against the yen on the perceptionthe data showing an overall improvement in the U.S. housingmarket.

The decline in U.S. housing was due to the more volatilemulti-family component, analysts said, while the single-familycategory rose to its highest since July 2008.

"Housing starts may have missed but they are still relatively high compared to where we are in the cycle," saidBrian Kim, currency strategist, at RBS Securities in Stamford,Connecticut.

"Overall, I would say, housing starts and building permitswere generally constructive."